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[testmen]

I don't feel like writing something up, but I feel that there should be more then one person submitting stuff so I'll just repost something I suggested a couple of pages ago.  It's probably good anyways, if the cost stays under a shell then it's cheap upgrade that makes our one of cheap gun better at shooting things.

Bamboozler - SSS Spiral Barrel refit
First off, we take a air compression tank and put it into the 'still sadly not a hammer' stock, giving extra punch to each shot like it does for our shooter.
The second part is to place a spiraled barrel made of Super Sea Shells.  Spirals have been found to be a recurring theme among the cultures of many of the shell-folk that have come to visit Inkopolis and the Inkspire, and after work on projects such as the vortex armor we can maybe see why.
To test this, we have worked on a method of mathematics know as Spiral Shell Geometry to help shape the barrel and the direction of force and ink in the barrel.  The gas comes in through the back, and together with the ink is spiraled through the barrel out into a choke that tightness the spread of the ink while the SSS prevent the lose of kinetic energy.  The resulting shot comes out tight and spiraling, allowing it to hit harder and from further away.

[TricMagic]

Main Weapon: Splash Cannon (0)
Vortex Armor Revision: Vortex Sphere (1) TricMagic
Bamboozler - SSS Spiral Barrel refit (1) TricMagic

I'm fine with all three so far. The Two I'm voting for edge out a win though.

The Vortex Sphere turns the old Special into something fresh and more useful, keeping defense while nixing offensepainting for stability.

The Refit is meant to give us a simple boost to our range. It does cost a Super Sea Snail, but that still renders it cheap, and gives it the range and accuracy to hit them again. If we do super well, it may turn into a basic upgrade for it as well. The New Gear will remain cheap, and likely end up replacing the standard version.

The Splash Cannon is more a Design Phase item, of which we have a lot. So those two are my votes. Anyone else have something to add?

[testmen]

Oh, I don't have a vote in yet

Main Weapon: Splash Cannon (0)
Vortex Armor Revision: Vortex Sphere (1) TricMagic
Bamboozler - SSS Spiral Barrel refit (2) TricMagic, testmen

[Draignean]

Main Weapon: Splash Cannon (0)
Vortex Armor Revision: Vortex Sphere (1) TricMagic
Bamboozler - SSS Spiral Barrel refit (3) TricMagic, testmen, Draignean

[Happerry]

Revision : Bamboozler - Spiral Barrel refit (Average Difficulty)
4+3 = 7: Superior craftsmanship

Under the aegis of a new school of mathematics, the new Spiral Barrel refit of the Bamboozler proves to be a great success, combining the new barrel with an air-pressure system to revolutionize the old, and honestly outdated, Bamboozler design. The combination noticeably increases both its range, its ink usage rates (as long as the air chamber remains pressurized, at least), and the amount of damage per shot. However, while this refit remains noticeably superior to the original model, it still remains inferior to the current model Bamboozler Mk.2b weapon system used by the enemy, with less damage and ink efficiency. While the Spiral Barrel's range actually essentially matches the original Bamboozler Mk.2 an upgraded nozzle/barrel system was since put into production, resulting in the enemy having around 15% more range then this model.

...Looking at that list of inferiorities, it's fairly apparent why the troops have been abandoning the normal Bamboozler for all the specialty weapons that Inkling Designers have been putting out these last seasons whenever they have an excuse. Still, hopefully this will be a vital step towards reclaiming equality in generalist weapon quality. Granted, the Quick Charge system does mean you still can fire faster then them, at least in the opening shots of an engagement where that most matters.

There is, however, one bit of better news. The tools, and crafts-lings, needed to properly craft these new barrels were, well, less then common and kinda expensive, almost leading to this Complex upgrade to remain less common then it could have been. However Inkling designers working late into the night have managed to figure out cheaper ways of carving out the barrels (they hired some Urchins), preventing this new weapon generation from not being put into mass distribution.

Costs 2 Plastic and 1 Super Sea Snails, making it Cheap. The high roll prevents a Complex tag.

Spoiler: Resources (click to show/hide)

Basic Resources
Plastics : 2
Super Sea Snails : 1

Advanced Resources
Zapfish : 2

Spoiler: Inkling Armory (click to show/hide)

Primary Weapon

• Bamboozler : A compression powered ink gun that was recently invented before the Great Turf War. It charges somewhat slowly, is hard to charge on the move, can not store a charge, has limited maximum range, has low ink usage efficiency hampering repeated use before one must refill their ink tank, and can not be fired while uncharged. In other words, a revolutionary improvement over all that came before. Despite being shaped somewhat like a hammer, it is not advisable to use it in melee to hit someone over the head with.
  Cheap - Cost : 2 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails.
  
  • Bamboozler Quickcharge Cartridges : A modification of the Bamboozler that adds a socket for a pre-filled and pressurized cartridge of ink. A simple lever allows the user to switch between normal firing mode and using the cartridge to fire an instant and fully charged shot, if one at only around 85% the range and power of a normal charged shot. Takes a little bit to unscrew the old cartridge and then screw another one in, limiting their ability to be used more then once in an exchange.
  • Spiral Barrel Refit : A modification of the Bamboozler that adds a new barrel as well as an air compression tank, thusly resulting in enhanced firing range, shot damage, and ink efficiency. While improved noticeably over the original model, this is still inferior to the second generation Bamboozler the Octolings have in production, among other things being around 15% shorter ranged then the enemy model. Produced in enough numbers to allow for mass deployment by way of hiring some Urchins to do the needed carving of Super Sea Snail shell.
    Cheap - Cost : 2 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails.
• Inkerial Blotter : An ink shell launching gun powered by super sea snail homeopathy and applied anti-logic. It fires blobs of ink that burst upon contact with a target, splattering a small area around said target with ink. It is hampered by its relatively short range, but uses a triple firing chamber array to permit an acceptable rate of fire. It's ink shells are also fired in an arc, instead of having a straight trajectory like other inkarms, permitting a limited amount of indirect fire. The recent addition of a proper pressurization chamber has both increased the AOE of the shells to a more average radius, and also has somewhat increased the range of fire to 'below average'. Also has snazzy new stone triggers.
  Expensive - Cost : 3 Plastic, 2 Super Sea Snails.
• ⑨-Scope : A powerful charger that uses eight Quickcharge Cartridges arranged around the primary compression chamber to achieve the forces needed for long ranged fire. The necessity to replace all the Cartridges between shots as well as re-compress the ink in the primary chamber ensure the ⑨-Scope has an absurdly low firing speed as well as a ferocious amount of recoil when fired. On the other hand, with a normal compression chamber and eight cartridges powering the shot, at least it hits hard. Also, the designers ran out of time and never got around to designing a scope for the gun, hindering its accuracy at its maximum range.
  Very Expensive - Cost : 4 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails, Complex.
• 3D-Scope : A powerful charger that uses three secondary compression chambers around the primary chamber to power its shots. Using all three of the secondary chambers requires more charging time then using fewer of them for a weaker shot, but only when all chambers are used does the 3D-Scope gain its true power and range. Comes with a simple scope for accurate fire out into the long range bracket, but uses up lots and lots of ink when being fired out to its full range and power. Unlike the ⑨-Scope, using it will no longer cover your entire shoulder and or arms in bruises from the recoil.
  Expensive - Cost : 4 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails.
• Rapid Shooter : A short ranged triple chambered gun, the Rapid Shooter is the first proper Shooter to be put into production in the Great Turf War. It's short ranged and has minor accuracy issues at the edge of its range, but it is also light, handy, and can recharge its compression chamber on the go. As such, as long as one doesn't literally hold the trigger down until the compression chamber is empty, it can maintain a continual stream of fire no other gun in the turf war can yet match.
  Cheap - Cost : 2 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails.

Sub Weapon

• Inkdisc-A Bomb/Mine : A disk shaped plastic casing for ink filled balloons that can be used as a thrown projectile detonated upon impact with a needle of hardened ink, or with the flip of a lever the needle may remain unused to allow for the deployment of the Inkdisc as a sort of non-stealthy mine. While limited in range, despite and because of its frisbee like shape, by the muscle power and throwing ability of its user one good direct hit within its range can splat the average target. Takes a few seconds to inflate though.
  Cheap - Cost : 2 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails.
• "Big Smoke" Smoke Bomb : A shell shaped throwing weapon that emits aerosolized ink from three separate ports, providing concealment, soothing friendly Inkantry, and serving as a low level ablative defense verses enemy shots. Enemies moving through a cloud will feel like they're moving through a cloud of itching powder, and the cloud is pretty effective at blocking line of sight. Of course, like other smoke weapons, that includes friendly line of sight...
  Expensive - Cost : 2 Plastic, 3 Super Sea Snails.
• Ink-Missile : A weapon based equally off the Inkdisc and the Big Air Ink Bomb, the Ink-Missile is a plastic disk with an almost frictionless bottom, allowing it to be sent skating into enemy lines where an ink signature detecting sensor causes it to explode as soon as it gets close enough to an enemy. Or sufficiently inked enemy turf, for that matter. It also has a motion sensor to cause it to explode when it finally comes to a halt if it manages to find no targets at all during its long skid. Has a somewhat smaller explosion radius then the Inkdisc due to the space taken up by the sensors and special bottom.
  Expensive - Cost : 3 Plastic, 1 Super Sea Snails.

Specials

• Vortex Armor : A defensive special that generates a vortex of ink around the user. Its immense energy expenses prevent it from lasting beyond four to six seconds, with its time falling to half of that while being heavily used. While the vortex lasts it will cover anything nearby in friendly ink, turf or foe, as well as intercept enemy shots with its own ink. Its defensive coverage isn't perfect though, and well aimed, sufficiently lucky, or singularly powerful enough shots can penetrate its defensive shroud.
  Cheap - Cost 1 Plastic, 1 Super Sea Snail
• Big Air Ink Bomb : A special that allows the user to fire a glowing artillery shot of ink up into the sky, to then fall back down and land on an unfortunate Octoling's head. Has some minor issues aiming, but has decent range, enough damage to splat basically anyone directly hit, good splash radius, and leaves a five second cloud of aerosolized ink floating around the impact site. Was immediately co-opted by tactical officers for use as a signal flare. It's simplicity allows it to be charged faster then normal for a special.
  Cheap - Cost 1 Plastic, 1 Super Sea Snail

Ability
No Abilities start out designed.

Personnel

• Inkantry : Brave Inklings, run through basic training and drilled repeatedly in weapon use and other skills needed on the modern battlefield. The Inkantry not only know how to use a gun, but also hold a basic understanding of the concepts of planning, crossfires, flanking maneuvers, and actually communicating with each other, and have superior running and swimming speed from all those athletic drills. They're still fairly basic soldiers, but they actually are soldiers now.
• Markslings: Inklings whom have powered through the frequent and blatant distractions and misuse of the Firink Field to maximize their accuracy, snapshot skills, and ability to assess cover to as high as the Firink Field could take them. While few are dedicated enough to become known as a Marksling, those whom are are rightfully known for their skills.
  Uncommon Specialist.
• Inkrunners: Inklings trained in Camp Booyah for speed, agility, and the arcane are of the Dodge Roll. Not actually better in direct combat then a normal Inkantry, but harder to hit and able to get to the fight, or any other location of interest, faster then a normal Inkantry. They need to use a light and easy to use weapon to be able to properly employ their skills however, preventing them from using most of the current armory.

Cultural Artifacts

• The Inkspire : A vast and continual open air market and cultural festival without end that has grown around Inkopolis Tower, better known as the Inkspire in those times. While of little direct military use, it's presence as a sign of what all Inklings fought for had noticeable effects on their overall morale. And besides, I found the cutest pair of booties there last time I went! Must visit again soon. And this time, I'll avoid drinking that homemade fire-water.

Other Gear

• Mark 1 Ink Tank : A basic ink tank, invented by the same inventor that invented the Bamboozler, and designed to work with the Bamboozler. A quarter of its mass is taken up with the complicated gearing that connects it to a Lings primary weapon and the generator for the subweapon, limiting how much ink it can store. Still better then having to produce ink manually whenever you need a refill though.
  Cheap - Cost : 2 Plastic, 0 Super Sea Snails.
  
  • Super Sea Snail Filters: The heavy valves that controlled ink flow in the Mark 1 Ink Tank have been replaced with a system of Super Sea Snail derived filters, which control the flow of ink without any jams or needed maintenance. The decreased size of the filters, in comparison to the original valve system, allows the non-tank part of the Ink Tank to decrease to taking up only around 15% of its mass instead of 25%. This does, however, mean that the Ink Tank now needs Super Sea Snails for construction.
    +1 Super Sea Snails (Cheap)
• Military Inkline Camp : A camp that teaches a two month course on the basics of military skills, with plenty of athletic and accuracy drills, as well as a new standardized basic training program to teach students how to be proper soldiers whom actually have basic military skills. Doesn't stand out as being awesome, but grants all students whom are put through its training a solid foundation for their new roll as Inkantry.
• Firink Range : An expanded weapons testing and training field with automatic targets that do things such as move and shoot back, as well as a multitude of different firing positions to practice from. For some reason the Inkantry have taken to using the place as a tournament ground, hindering attempts to train within it. Still, for those whom persist and fail to be distracted by the team verses team playfights, a noticeable level of skill can emerge. Markslings may not be common, but they have learned the lessons of the Firink Range well and full-heartedly.
• Camp Booyah : An alternate training area, Camp Booyah is an obstacle course that specializes in training Inkrunners instead of long ranged combatants. Unlike earlier obstacle courses it is far less likely to traumatize and splat it's victim-, er, trainees. On the other tentacle, it also produces far less lawsuits.
• Spike Covered Crevasses : It turns out that these are illegal to drop Inklings into, and do not in fact make good obstacle courses.

Superweapons
So far, no Superweapons have been developed.

Heroes

• Commander Cauldo : A former instructor of the Inkantry Brevetted to Commander and deployed to battle. Armed with a refined Inkerial Blotter using lighter materials and a five-firing chamber arrangement for greater firing speed and usability, as well as experimental ink energy batteries that are no longer mildly explosive when things go wrong. Commander Cauldo is known for his tactical skill and ability at small scale unit command, skills which seem to come from his days as an instructor, and unlike most heroes works closely with an attached squad of Inkantry. His presence is inspiring to said squad and any other Inklings around, and he can use his reputation to get other squads to listen to him, increasing local coordination.
• Aoi the Painter: A former security guard and self employed manga artist, Aoi has been recruited into the ranks of the special Inkling Agents as Agent 2. She's armed with a self designed giant paintbrush weapon able to really paint some turf as long as the enemy is at point blank range, and uses compressed air to let her throw the ink off the brush farther when she swings it around. Even if the compressed air capsule has to be replaces every few minutes as it runs out of air, it still gives her a bit of extra range. Aoi is pretty fast on her feet and nimble, if not unreasonably so. Lastly, her glowing facepaint makes her look extra fresh.

The Deployment Phase of Fall, Year 2 has begun.
Please vote for which two fronts reinforcements should be actively deployed to in an attempt to push forwards, and where heroes should be sent- Warning, Warning. Anomalous energy signature detected. Scanning... Scanning...

Wild Zap Fish Detected!

Forces may be sent to capture the Wild Zap Fish, adding it to the reserves. Advisory Notice. It is highly likely enemy forces have also made the same detection. Opposition may be encountered in the field.

Sensors now have a lock on the Zap Fish, so if it is not captured this turn, by one side or another, forces can be sent after it next turn.

[TricMagic]

Comander Cauldro sent to the Zapfish with a unit of Inklings.

Aoi the Painter deploys to Mount Nantai in anticipation of a Superweapon Push. If she can sneak onto the Superweapon as it's reloading and manage to deal with the issue.. That will go a long way to an advantage.

1 Unit left for deployment. Perhaps Calimari Country, So we don't get pushed out of there too.

[SamSpeeds]

Plan A/TricMagic (2): TricMagic, SamSpeeds

Here are some ideas. We should probably get a superweapon soon

BIGLING

Inklings enlarged by mutative, enhancing energies of the Super Sea Snails and trained to use their enhanced bulk to absorb ink-attacks and smash enemies with their fists and enlarged weaponry. Intended to contend with them giant octopi and their big octopus hero.

Inkzilla

Massive. Mutated. Bloated. Supercharged. This Zapfish enhanced Inkling superweapon is created when a cabal of eligible inklings decide to forgo their individual lives, bodies, and identities to become something greater together. Standing in a circle they chant and absorb the energies of the Zapfish to merge and grow. They become a towering creature with might, mass, and the brainpower to move it. Inkzilla. It's armed with biological weapons like claws and sharp fins and horrible fangs and is tall enough to rip rising balloons from their ascent and huck them down at the ground for cruel retribution.

Are these enough description, or should I go more in depth? NGL, I don't really get all the made up science (made up?) for this game.

Another thing to consider is that they've beat us into the Superweapon and Hero fields now (I think). Been playing catch up all game and I think we're losing. What if we rushed out an ability next turn? What could that even look like?

[TricMagic]

This thing for Superweapon design, yeah?

Superweapon: The Inkling/Squid Spiral Shell Mecha

Utilizing Spiral Shell Geometry in the plating and mechanics, this machine can transform into an Inkling Mecha-Squid Form to swim through and hide in Ink. It also utilizes the Vortex Armor's properties to spread paint as it swims, now streamlined through Spiral Shell Geometry and powered by the Zapfish.

It has hydraulic jump-boosters in it's feet allowing for jumps in it's Mecha-Inkling Form, and the Leg Design to handle the pressure of the landing, making use of a mix of Hydraulic Pressure and Shell Compression. All the force gets shot out as ink around the Jump-point/Landing sites.

As the Vortex Armor is worked into the Spiral Shell-designed Armor itself, it offers great defense against concentrated enemy fire when active, such as the Kraken-Blade. The Hydraulics allow for movement, and we have the cockpit for our Inkling to pilot it.

For Weapons, we have three. First, the Spiral Bamboozler, docked on the left side of the Mecha.

Spiral Bamboozler X-1.0: Connected to the mains, it's a pretty solid gun, that once charged, fires for a long time. It's got mega range thanks to some additions from the 3-D Scopes designs, and a good splash radius, simply from a larger caliber. Thanks to some work, once the air tank is connected the tank and filled, this weapon can be fired off and on till it's empty, with only minor issues with charge time. Zapfish Power is used to compress new air into this tank once empty.
*If for some reason the connected line is broken, this will cut off this weapon till repaired. That's why we have others though.*


Next up, The Slugsplatter, usually kept in it's holder on the right of the Mecha.

Slugsplatter pX-1.0: A hollow tube carved with spiral shells made from super sea shells, open at one end. Connected to the main by a simply high-pressure hose in the bottom, this weapon is only really exposed when you're using it. Thanks to Spiral Shell Geometry, we can create a bat mad out of ink from this handle, that we can then sling around with great Splats and Fun. Sure, ink flies off everywhere as it spirals around the Core of the weaponized ink-bat, but anyone hit with it is going to have a bad day back at the respawn point. Dizzying.


Bigger Air to Air Ink Bomb is the final weapon, mounted on the back of the Mecha.

Bigger-Air to Air Ink Bomb, X-1.0: A much bigger weapon based off the Big Air Ink Bomb. Our Mecha has arms to stabilize itself so this thing can be fired like normal. It is however possible to fire it with far greater pressure, allowing it to hit airborne targets, within reason. This can also be co-opted to make ridiculously long shots with quite some accuracy. Not much else to say about it, It's designed to be powered by the Zapfish for multiple shots after a charge time, and is easy enough to adapt to this Superweapon, no changes needed.


Two Legs, Two Arms, no Head. Cockpit is in the Torso, and the power source is inserted into where the head would be, along with the Leading Front of the Mecha-Squid's head. For obvious reasons, there is a way to get in through the back/top into the cockpit through a special ink pipe, sized for normal inklings, of course.

[testmen]

I can't think of anything better.

Plan A/TricMagic (3): TricMagic, SamSpeeds, testmen

Big, monster squids would be cool and I thought of a design like that, but they wouldn't really be effective right now since their superweapon flies and could just stay out of reach and drop bombs on us.

I do still want to do the ninja plan sooner or later, but if we make a superweapon, I want it to have a better name than 'Inkling/Squid Spiral Shell Mecha,' which is why I'm going google squid terms to try to see what would make a cool sounding superweapon name.

[The_Two_Eternities]

Plan A/TricMagic (3): TricMagic, SamSpeeds, testmen, TTE

[Happerry]

The Great Turf War of Fall, Year 2, has now Finished.

The Design Phase of Winter, Year 2 has begun.

Gain +1 Zapfish from catching a Wild Zapfish. Gain a +1 bonus to the next Special Ability you create through scavenged human pesudo-science documents. Loose -1 Zapfish to the enemy.

[SamSpeeds]

We're so close. We're this close to being able to turn things around. One more good turn! Come on! Come on! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

Special: Chain Inkstrike

Spark. Spark. Spark. Ain't that like, ain't that like when you got some sorta machine, and it makes them? Those glowing things? Or a fire? What's that? That's like energy, right? Hey, we have that!

The Chain Inkstrike special is a potent technique for defeating multiple opponents or those hidden behind some types of cover. One's Ink Energy is used to generate a blast of ink with offensive properties similar to electricity in some useful regards - it can pass through conducive surfaces to strike, strike multiple targets in succession, is super fast, and hurts a whole lot. It also glows like that other ink we made. First the user chooses a target to focus their energy towards - this would usually be an enemy Octoling or something else useful to target, like their gear. The special ink swirls around them and zips out like a flash towards the enemy, severely inking them and hopping to the nearest similar target real fast-like. If a suitable target isn't in reach, or the blast has expended much of it's momentum, it'll splat down as glowing friendly ink.

Superweapon: Tempest Doomstriker

A big giant device/facility. It takes the form of a bulbous, squat building with glowing ink pipes and dark walls and stuff, crowned with a metal spire that stretches up from four points around the facility and comes together and up over it. It utilizes the power of the Zapfish and a hefty dose of incomprehensible jargon to affect the weather in a chosen region in an electric way. Basically, it exerts massive electromagnetic pressure over great distances to finely warp the high air in the target region to begin to produce more and more chaotic weather as it cycles towards its target anomalic zone. First light thunderstorms will begin, eventually becoming heavier, accompanied by rain. When enough time has passed and enough energy and pressure focused, both phenomena will fundamentally change. The rain will become friendly ink and the lightning will become friendly ink lightning, striking down at sources of enemy ink with fury and splatting the way for our Inkling soldiers. This sweet spot of anomaly induced inkrain is only maintained through careful control of the spire's magnetic exertions and could be disrupted fairly easily, at the least stopping the ink part of the storm for a while. That's why the facility is nestled far in the backlines of whatever front it's assigned to.

(((Would it be possible for us to put it in our home tile and have it still work, or to wheel it to explain how it's moving around (presumably?) between turns? Either that or we could move it like one of them royalty platforms or reassemble/disassemble it every time.)))

I might have a few more ideas, but I gotta finish this project.

[testmen]

Since Happerry said that a back line superweapon would be hard to make since it would be hard to balance, I got some other designs of questionable value.

Ikamechshi IK0: Ganglia - Superweapon
   The IK0 Ganglia is the first of the line of weapon known as Ikamechshi, which harness the power of Zapfishes to create mechanical behemoth superweapons that can match and surpass the power of entire armies. 
The Ganglia is looks like an oversized bug zapper on a couple of coiled legs, with two attached oversized tennis rackets.  It is weapon meant to make use of the most direct form of the Zapfish’s energy, which is kept secured in the zapfish containment inside of the cage, but it’ energy causes the inside of the cage to glow brightly. 
   The springy coiled legs give the Ganglia a surprising amount of mobility, able to bounce around like something with way less mass.  This is achieved through a combination of squirting ink to give propulsion, and the help of a Zapfish’s power to contract and extend the coils similar to a living being’s muscles.  Running electrify through it legs has the side effect of being able to electrify an inked area around itself.
   The Ganglia is armed with a pair of what looks like Tennis rachets, which the springs get ink pumped on them so that the Ganglia can splash ink around.  And of course the strings on the rackets are wires that conduct electricity, so it’s not just ink being tossed around, but ELECTRIC ink.
   A last ability The Ganglia has is nice tricky one.   The Ganglia has the ability to fire rockets that have spoils for wire hanging from them.  When rockets hit a cloud, it causes the cloud to artificially start an aggressive thunderstorm.  The thunderclouds it creates will spew out lightning on anything with the poor luck to be underneath it, likely raining on their parade, ha ha ha

tl:dr It's a boncy boi bugzapper with tennis rackets for hands that fires off rockets that make clouds into thunderclouds.


Firefly - Hero
   One day while a Inkling know as Ms.Pyroteuthidae was cooking herself a meal, she ended up burning it, and it started aflame.  She became so fascinated by the site that she only started to snap out of it just in time to get out of her home before the fire reached the gas line and exploded her house.  After burning away her life savings, she realized that she has to find a less self-destructive way to satisfy herself, lucky finding an opportunity to do so through joining the war effort and becoming a solider. 
   Before joining, she has gone out of her way to study demolition and pyrotechnics, she learned how to take down structures, set up traps and produce inkplosives on the field, which she explains with bit too much enthusiasm.   While it would probably be better if we could get her to sit on the design making things instead of the fighting on the front lines, she seems to be more interested on being able to she her handiwork in person, then hear about it in a after report.
   In her resume she included a few designs for special made, modified equipment she would like to be able to make if she was able to join. While the designs she submitted include a lot that are basically her asking the state to give her the unlimited funds to make a bunch of frivolous and questionably functionable things. However, we were able to sift through her blueprints to find designs that would be workable to make for her, which include a Inktank that can support multiple subweapon and special weapon systems, a few custom subweapons such as remotely denotated bombs and improved variants of existing subweapons, and a custom special which channels special energy to the subweapon systems, massively boosting them to be able to make subweapons until the tank runs out of special juice.

tl:dr It's a hero I made for a previous turn, but made to be more about throwing around subweapons and less about burning things.  Admittedly probably a stretch for the bonus and questionable if we want another hero right now, but I though about sparks setting off explosives and remembered her.

Also remember that for the non-spark bonus that it isn't for special weapons but for special Abilities AKA the clothes that boost your abilities.

[TricMagic]

Agent Sparks' and his Spark Gear

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Someone from the expedition to the old place with the Zapfish ended up finding something super amazing, and was inspired.

Taking knowledge from old documents, he created the Ink-Rain, a generator powered by a Zapfish and the Specials System, that let him generate clouds of ink that rained down for a time onto the ground.

Taking refuge in this, he then created the Inkzapper, a Main-Weapon that used the aura of the Zapfish, it's sparks, to Zap enemy Ink Signatures with a large amount of Ink-Energy.

Even further, he took it to the next level, re-purposing the Sub-weapon System to let him travel through the Rain of Ink, like a Spark of lightning.

And with this, the Spark Gear was born, making a Hero out of him.
 Lightning striking from where you least expect it, Rain appearing from nowhere.

Granted, it was mostly his Gear, but he definitely knew how to use it. Now if only he could get it to work without the Zapfish, but with batteries.


Taking the concept of turning an Inkling into a walking Superweapon. +1 from Sparks, +1 from Science! And an 8, or maybe 7, would end up turning him into an actual hero, having figured out how to use something else other than the Zapfish for his gear.

As this happens to be a super-weapon design edging into potential hero territory, it should be normal. Using electricity to generate positive and negative energy, and using those concepts to create the stuff listed.

A Inkling that happens to be a reporter, who saw the various failures and recorded them. She manage to get her hands on the old human science, and made a thing!

Sparks Gear

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Super fresh clothes, the T-shirt boosts recharge and fire rate, and the running sneakers boost the speed of our inkling on our turf to insane levels, looking more like a jumping spark from point to point when they swim in it. The Headclips are a mix of a thunderbolt and a circle, and they boost the amount of turf our attacks ink through attraction to un-inked or enemy-charged turf.

The entire set actually does something extra, boosting the amount of hits you can take from shear presence, deflecting ink away from the user, if only a bit.

Similar but separate from sprites, blue jets are another recently discovered high-altitude lightning phenomenon. These ephemeral jets of energy are cone-like in structure and can be seen spreading upward from clouds during a thunderstorm. As with ELVES and sprites, blue jets were first confirmed by studying video from space shuttle missions, although aircraft pilots had long reported seeing blue jets. One thing that makes seeing such phenomena from the ground difficult is that associated lightning ground bursts are many times brighter. Also, blue jets usually last only milliseconds. But blue jets might be visible to an observer carefully watching a distant nighttime thunderstorm. Yet they’re so elusive that even if you carefully watch the accompanying video, you might have a hard time spotting a blue jet until the video goes to slow motion around the 1:30 mark.

Ability: Blue Jet Shoes
A special piece of Gear, these shoes contain a unique charge.
They offer the ability to JUMP(Jet Union Master Protocol), boosting you into the air and landing you near your teammates, so long as they have Inked Turf nearby them, and are emitting the same type of Ink Energy.

Perhaps just as important, they allow us to use the Respawn Pads to JUMP to any area where our forces are, allowing for rapid re/deployment. 

Our ability to detect and use Ink Energy improves every day, doesn't it... This solves quite a few issues.

As this is basically a special lining inside the shoes themselves, it can be placed into just about anything, still allowing our forces to choose what they wish to wear. Should be Cheap, as not much should be needed.


Potential +1 for Science in General, attraction, identification of like and dislike, and other stuff. Mainly Blue Jets, for the JUMP aspect, though the ELVES also play a role in lateral distance, maybe..
Potential +1 from Sparks, being the use of Ink Energy Signatures' own properties. We've gotten rather good with this type of Science. Also Blue Jets, for the JUMP aspect, though the ELVES also play a role in lateral distance, maybe..

Point being, old science observations lead to great things. And it's thematically appropriate.

[TricMagic]

Short Recap of Data Below
Spark Fax + Electrical Phenomenon = +2 to the Roll.
Ink Energy, Signatures, and Wavelengths. We've got this.
Charges & Fields, Easy enough with our Bonus. Thank you ancient Humans for leaving this behind for us.(Basic Electrical Stuff, and SSS of Course)
Other Gear- Materia: JUMP Materia(Made of Super Sea Snail.)
⟳ (Complete Circuit for JUMP, JUMPing Mechanics)

Hmm.. Time for SCIENCE!

Super Sea Snails, mostly. They are the base of this technological wonder...

We also have this Sparks Fax. And the old human place out in the middle of the Great Blue Beyond has quite a bit of data. Fragmented true, but most of it seems dedicated to Electrical Phenomenon, which is likely why the Zapfish ended up there.

Using our knowledge, we know quite a bit about Ink, Ink Energy, and how horribly it can go wrong. We are also capable of reading and detecting wavelengths, though it can be a bit tricky.


Like attracts Like, but it also the same charge usually repels each other too.  A Positive and Negative Charge are attracted to each other, hmm..

This would end up being an Other Gear, situation actually, would it not?

With this as the Premise, Standard Equip Loadout would include this Materiel.

Materia, that's what it shall be called.

JUMP Materia

The JUMP Materia, a material formed from a Super Sea Snail. It is loaded into our Inklings Gear, and as the Inkling in question has their Ink Signature changed, so too does the Signature of the JUMP Materia change with it.

When Changing to Squid form, the Inkling's Gear also shifts with them. There are plenty of questions why this happens, but I believe it's because that gear is also charged with that Inkling's personal signature, their (Fresh)Soul, if you would. The same applies to their clothing.

The JUMP Materia works off this, the Shift. They can Shift, and while above, the JUMP Materia is merged with the Inkling, and this triggers the ability in the gear. The Inkling can then use this ability to perform a JUMP to their nearby allies.


As for the Science, we use Charged Fields. The Materia has the Same Signature as other Materia, creating a +/+ reaction.
This Charge repels the Inklings when in use, but that is the beauty of it.

⟳

The Charged Field completes itself through the ground, pulling the JUMPer to the area of the Ally in question. Moreover, through the use of the Fragmented Data, we can use the very Nature of Charges to help complete this.

Fragmented Data
The Data of the ELVES, Sprites. The mythical Dark Lightning. Perhaps most important, Blue Jets.

All of these pieces of data are fragmented, but these sparks grant a huge amount of info to test with, and point the way to making this work.

Lightning also looks cool, so there is that.

JUMPing uses the repel of the two and twists it, like calling to like. The Charge travels through the ground, and across open air, from the JUMP Materia of the Ally, all the way to the user's own. The User then uses this JUMP to complete the circle, traveling through the air to the ally's position.

This is the basis of the Charged Field(+/+). But not the only part. We also need to discuss another part, +/-.

The JUMP Materia has 3 Charges, 4 and 5 if we are technical about it.
 A positive electrical charge, a negative electrical charge, and an Ink Energy Charge.(This Ink Energy Charge itself has a Signature, a Positive Form, and a Negative Form.)

We got into +/+, but -/- also acts the same way. In addition, the same effect recurs in reverse, with the negative charge of the user's JUMP Materia, reaching in an arc to other nearby JUMP Materia. This completes a circuit, and the +/- connection, when activated, triggers the JUMP Charge.

This is the final bit, that this occurs on both sides constantly(low-key waves), so that all JUMP Materia are always connected to nearby JUMP Materia of the same Signature. The Ink Energy Signature is what determines what wavelength the JUMP Materia is on, so they don't end up messing up each other in training.



This actually brings us to the next point, that of the Respawn Pads. They are taken once we've shifted the energy to our own, and this offers a huge boost in the Charges and Fields that we are using for this. It basically boosts the Jump to anywhere nearby that Pad, limited only to the next Pad's Area. We can't cross another Pad's Area, but this is the great part. The +/- Interact can also apply to enemy ink signatures here, more specifically, the Pad's own Signature. So long as we have JUMP Materia in that area, we can jump to that Materia's position. The Energy of the Respawn Pads is also why you can't just jump to another Pad past it, but for JUMPing right back to the Frontlines, it's super useful.